Cave Story

Cave Story
A green-haired man approaches a throne upon which sits a demonic crown. A girl and a rectangular monster float above inside bubbles.
Opening cinematic depicting (from left) Balrog, the Doctor, and Misery
Developer(s)Studio Pixel[a]
Publisher(s)
  • Studio Pixel
  • Nicalis (Wii, DSi, Cave Story+)
  • NIS America (Cave Story 3D)
Designer(s)Daisuke Amaya
Writer(s)Daisuke Amaya
Composer(s)
Platform(s)
Release
December 20, 2004
  • Microsoft Windows
    • JP: 20 December 2004
    Cave Story+
    • WW: 22 November 2011
    Wii
    • NA: 22 March 2010
    • EU: 10 December 2010
    Nintendo DSi
    • NA: 29 November 2010
    • JP: 22 November 2011
    Nintendo 3DS
    • NA: 4 October 2012
    • EU: 1 May 2014
    • JP: 30 September 2015
    Cave Story 3D
    • NA: 8 November 2011
    • EU: 11 November 2011
    • AU: 24 November 2011
    • JP: 26 July 2012
    Linux
    • WW: 13 December 2011
    Nintendo Switch
    • NA: 20 June 2017
    • PAL: 20 July 2017
    • JP: 8 February 2018
Genre(s)Platform-adventure, Metroidvania[1]
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer (Switch)

Cave Story[b] is a 2004 Metroidvania[1] platform-adventure video game for Microsoft Windows. It was developed over five years by Japanese independent developer Daisuke "Pixel" Amaya in his free time. Cave Story features 2D platform mechanics and is reminiscent of the games Amaya played in his youth, such as Metroid and Castlevania. After its initial self-published release, the game slowly gained popularity on the internet. It received widespread critical acclaim for many polished aspects of its design, such as its compelling characters, setting, story, and gameplay. Cave Story is considered by many as the quintessential indie game because of its one-person development team and influence on the video gaming world.[2][3]

Independent video game developer Nicalis worked with Amaya to port the game to WiiWare and DSiWare in 2010. An enhanced version, Cave Story+, was released for Steam in November 2011, and the original game was released for the Nintendo 3DS in October 2012 with added content. A 3D remake of the game, titled Cave Story 3D, was developed by Nicalis and published by NIS America for the Nintendo 3DS in November 2011. A port of Cave Story+ for the Nintendo Switch was released in June 2017.

Cave Story revolves around Quote, a robot who wakes up suffering from amnesia and explores in diverse cavernous areas in order to uncover his backstory and escape from the cave. The character gains access to new areas as he powers up his weapons by collecting triangular experience crystals and solves various platforming puzzles. Quote speaks to non-player characters scattered around the game world in order to learn more about the world and its inhabitants.


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  1. ^ a b Nutt, Christian (13 February 2015). "The undying allure of the Metroidvania". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on 29 January 2020. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  2. ^ "Evolving the Game Industry: Indies". 10 April 2014. Archived from the original on 9 May 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  3. ^ "Cave Story". Archived from the original on 9 April 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2018.